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All about that firm life | Maxclinic Miraclinic Ampoule Dressing/Contouring Object and CIRMAGE lifting stick

By Sarah - Sunday, July 24, 2016

Another 2 products I received from my July BNT Beauty Box was the Maxclinic Miraclinic Ampoule Dressing/Contouring Object and CIRMAGE lifting stick. Both are meant to help firm and tighten the skin, for that classic V shaped face which apparently, many Asians are after.

This is a plaster mask, which basically hardens on the face to aid in circulation while providing nutrients to the skin at the same time. Acting somewhat like a corset, this is said to help firm the skin as well. Technical wise, this is similar to the masks applied during spas and facials. Effect wise, well, not so much but more on that later.

To be honest, that plaster mask looks kinds creepy.
Image credit to Kbeautynow

The packaging for this is pretty bulky as the masks come in 2 separate packagings and one of them is pretty large (and inflexible) so travelling with them might be out of the question, unless you are dedicated and then sure, you can find a large flat surface to store them.

Step 1 is to place the Miraclinic Ampoule Dressing onto the face. Here, the mask sheets comes in 2 - one for the top of the face and the other for the bottom. The mask sheets were not extremely soaked so there was no unnecessary dripping of the serum, which I do like. On the other hand, I felt that the effect of the serum may not be as intense due to the small amount of serum present. Size wise, the mask did not fit my face well. I do not think of myself having a small forehead but the mask was slightly too large for my face (as you can see from the pictures). Yes, I probably should have pulled it up slightly as everything was a tad too low, but we move on. The mask meant for the bottom section of the face has 2 "wings", meant to be pulled up, which I assume is to help lift the sagginess that lies beneath (and boy, does my double chin love to come out and play).

Step 2 involves a contouring object, which is a powdery porous paper-like sheet which should be placed firmly atop the ampoule dressing which we've applied earlier. Similar to the above, this contains the "wings" at the bottom as well. This leaves powdery substances onto the fingertips after application, and I am not entirely sure which ingredient is causing that.

To be honest, I got slightly confused as to what are the steps. I found a video here from Kbeautyluxury to help you (or for your pure entertainment):

Generally, sheet masks are a no fuss, hassle free situation for me and I do prefer one sheet which I just plop onto my face (before I plop onto my bed). This involved 3 sections to put on, and I gotta say, this puts the H in hassle.

After 20-30 minutes, this should have hardened onto the face and it did, but not in an uncomfortable and tight kind of way. After chilling with my YouTube videos, I simply pulled off the mask (which comes off in 1 piece now as all the layers have moulded together).

Did my skin miraculously became firm and tight like a 10-year old? No, and of course, 1 application is unlikely to result in so. However, I do feel that my skin texture feels much smoother as I was applying my skincare.

Considering the hassle and effects of this mask, I personally would just head over for a facial rather than to do this at home myself. Of course, to each its own.

In a set, you do get 4 applications and it costs 78000 KRW (about SGD 94). In my humble opinion, daz expensive. However, considering the price we pay for a single facial treatment, maybe it is pretty worth it.

Now, let's move on the MAXCLINIC Cirmage lifting stick.

This product is meant to firm and lift the skin as it acts like a gua sha tool. I have little to none knowledge of gua sha massage, but from research, it seems to aid in promoting blood circulation and lift sagging skin. Main ingredients include peptides (to help in repairing the skin), collagen activated vitamins (to improve the elasticity of the skin), Niacinamide and Adenosine (aids in whitening and anti-aging) and 15 patented ingredients.

It comes in a twist up container, and is uniquely shaped to fit the contours of the face. Texture wise, I do find it pretty dry and that it drags on the skin, which to be fair, isn't the best if you want the skin to remain firm.

As you can see from this picture, these are the steps for a complete massage using the lifting stick to help firm the skin. To be honest, there are many steps and boy, you're gonna need time for that.

Overall, I'll keep this short, I dislike this. I feel that the product is extremely dry, such that I do not see any product residue on the skin after vigorously swatching it on the back of my hand. The steps are tedious to say the least and with the product being so dry, there is a lot of tugging on the skin, which I repeat, is the opposite of helping to firm the skin. Thus, this was a dud for me and I do not recommend it.

Once again, thanks to the BNT team for sending these over!

Till next time,

**These products were sent for a review. Only honest thoughts are shared here, with no influence from others. I am not compensated nor affliated to the brand.